CEA-Advisor_April-2023-issue_web

SUPPORTING

6 CEA ADVISOR APRIL 2023

ONE YOUNG AND UNION—REACHING, TEACHING OUR NEWEST EDUCATORS

A teacher’s first years in the classroom are often the most challenging—and a time when educators need all the support their veteran colleagues and peers can give them. “Early career educators are often so busy learning the ropes and managing multiple new responsibilities that they may not feel as connected to their union or as aware of their rights, responsibilities, and the resources available to them,” says CEA Training and Organizational Development Specialist Christopher Teifke. That’s why CEA has piloted a series of events called ONE Young and Union: Empowerment Through Knowledge, tailored to the needs and desires of local associations that want to engage more early career educators and provide opportunities and training geared specifically to that demographic. “ONE stands for Opportunity, Networking, and Empowerment,” says Teifke, “and that’s what we aim to provide to this often-overlooked group. We’ve designed events that are relevant and informative to educators just starting out and that connect them

to their union leaders and to each other. These gatherings are also fun—they give early career educators an opportunity to learn and grow together outside the classroom.” The first two events, held this winter and spring in Groton, were a legal bootcamp where participants were introduced to laws affecting their profession, including laws governing tenure, teacher evaluation, union representation, free speech, use of technology, and social media. “We had a great turnout, and we look forward to the next learning session, which will focus on the Family Medical Leave Act and other important leave provisions,” Teifke says. “The series is geared toward teachers with less than six years’ experience and is free to all CEA members. We’re also happy to bring this program to any local association interested in engaging its newest members.” To learn more about upcoming ONE Young and Union events and to schedule events in your area, contact Teifke ( christophert@ cea.org ) or fellow CEA organizer Gloria Dimon ( gloriad@cea.org ).

At a ONE Young and Union gathering in Groton, early career educators pause for a selfie with CEA organizer Chris Teifke.

FIXING CT-SEDS: TEACHERS SHARE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT WITH STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CT-SEDS, the state’s new special

A colleague responded that a great fix to the problem would be to have the list of accommodation categories provided as a checklist or drop-down. “That would save hours,” she said. Educators shared that the onerous nature of CT-SEDS results in working nights and weekends and still falling out of compliance with students’ IEPs. Completing a typical IEP now takes 4-6 hours, while a complex one could take 10 12 hours to finish, they reported. “Why don’t we have an 800 number we can call at 2 a.m., when we’re working on IEPs?” one educator asked. Teachers also raised concerns that the platform’s IEP at a glance (the abbreviated document that provides a quick reference to a student’s IEP) doesn’t match the new

education data system, has been fraught with problems since its rollout, and CEA leaders and members have brought their concerns to education officials at various forums. At CEA’s urging, the State Department of Education (SDE) held CT-SEDS Fix-It Forums around the state in March to allow special education teachers to articulate the many problems they are facing and offer suggestions for making the platform better. Bryan Klimkiewicz, special education division director for the SDE, acknowledged the problems with CT SEDS, noting that they added to the burden special education teachers already

Montville’s Tracy Zurowski and CEA Treasurer Stephanie Wanzer, of CES, are among the many special education teachers calling for fixes to CT-SEDS.

faced in light of educator shortages, increasing caseloads, and the lingering effects of the pandemic on students and teachers. “You’re all heroes for the work you do with your students,” he said. “One of the areas I know I need to improve on is open lines of

IEP information entered. Kim Bean, a project manager with the SDE’s Bureau of Special Education, acknowledged the issue and assured teachers it would be resolved in the near future. Educators also explained that CT-SEDS tutorial videos are often not helpful, requiring significant time to find answers to simple questions. According to Klimkiewicz, a new search feature will soon be released. Next steps “Please don’t wait to take action,” one teacher urged. Klimkiewicz said that the SDE was collecting the information teachers shared at the forums and sorting it into themes. “We have a list of enhancements we’re working on, and we want to match those to the issues you’ve identified and make sure we’re prioritizing the right issues.”

communication with teachers.” Major problems The thirty plus educators attending the Hartford forum sat at tables with others who

teach at the same grade level and talked through the CT-SEDS issues they’re facing. Some of the major problems they identified include the following: • A lack of autosave causes teachers to frequently lose their work. • Start and end dates for IEPs are often incorrect. • When writing goals and objectives, the window blocks teachers’ ability to see what they’ve already entered. • The process for categorizing accommodations is cumbersome and, when printed out, the accommodations are no longer categorized. • More support through a help desk phone number or chat is needed. • Processes need to be simplified. Teachers noted that previous systems saved their work automatically. With CT-SEDS, sometimes a green “save” icon appears, but the text entered is not always saved, causing work to be lost. “Goals and objectives are what takes everyone the most time,” one teacher said. “Not being able to see what you entered is a big problem. The window that comes up blocks everything behind it. We’re all doing this work in five minutes here, 10 there, so we lose track of what objective we’re on, and we can’t see anything behind the window. It would be great to just have a window that allows you to see everything at once.” “Why are we spending so much time categorizing these accommodations when they print out as one uncategorized list?” one teacher asked.

Concerned that special education teachers who are overscheduled and unable to attend Fix-It Forums still have valuable input to provide regarding fixing CT-SEDS, one teacher recommended a web portal or email address that would allow educators to submit feedback. Others asked the SDE to help ensure that school districts provide protected time for teachers to write IEPs and do related reporting.

“The state and federal governments have required us to do more than there is time for in a day,” one educator noted. “So many of us are struggling with this. It’s been a dreadful year. We need time to do this work and do it well. I feel better having had this forum and knowing that you’re hearing what we have to say.” Targeted CT-SEDS Training State Department of Education partners are offering additional virtual training on specific aspects of CT-SEDS this spring and summer. Find out more and register: cea.org/ct-seds-training .